If anyone ever thought that jewelry is mostly about women, they must not know their history very well. All throughout the ages many men have been just as avid jewelry wearers as women. From ancient times men adorned themselves with necklaces, bracelets and rings of all kinds.

Even back to the days of the cave man they would wear feathers bones, and rocks if need be to present themselves in a more noticeable way, and if the women cared for it fine, and if they did not, well they wore it anyway. Thank goodness fashion evolved through the years and more conventional jewelry replaced the bones and feathers, at least in most cultures. There are remote tribes in Africa and other countries that still find more primitive jewelry perfectly acceptable as well it should be, because if nothing else, jewelry is all about one’s individual taste and preferences.

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By the time the typical bride takes to the aisle, her wedding dress will have hung in the closet for nearly a year; she will have looked at and admired it upwards of a billion times; and nothing – not even her adorable niece-turned-flower girl – is going to distract from it on the big day. That makes choosing bridal jewelry kind of a catch-22. How can a bride find jewelry that complements her dress, her hair, her glowing smile, without taking away from all of the above? Sarah Stephens, Fashion Director for Dasha Boutique, shares some advice.

1. Gold is Great

Gold is a traditional metal and therefore not a distracting one. Be it an earring dangle, necklace chain or bracelet clasp, gold conveys quality and class, and nothing more. Additionally, gold reflects less glare than sterling silver in photos and will not stand out too strongly against any skin tone. Try “goldfill” for a high quality, less pricey option.

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Jade is popular among many people all over the world most especially on the Chinese and other Asians. All of us envision jade jewelry as a green stone and many are not even aware that it can come in other color variations. Genuine jade can be either jadeite or nephrite. Both of these jade variations are hard and you can expect that they don’t chip and break easily. Generally, jade has a medium to high polish.

Of the two variations of jade, jadeite is the more expensive and the rarer one. Burma is the world’s major supplier of jadeite although deposits of such can also be found in Guatemala and in other parts around the world. There are also numerous color variations of jadeite from green, lavender, white, yellow, orange, red and black. Jadeite that is translucent and evenly colored in emerald green is called Imperial Jade. On the Mohs scale, the diamond is a ten with jade ranking at 7 for it is a very hard mineral.

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When the weather warms up, and we no longer have to worry about shielding ourselves from bitter winter winds, fashion moves to the forefront of our minds. Every summer, no matter what the current fashion trends are, everyone wants to look their best for the vacations, picnics, cook-outs and festivals associated with the warmer months of the year. Luckily, unlike most fleeting clothing trends, jewelry never goes out of style. Sure, certain types and designs of jewelry will sell particularly well during a given year, but a piece of jewelry bought this summer is likely to be just as fashionable in the years to come. In short, an item of summer jewelry can last a lifetime.

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Jewelry comes in as many types as there are people who wear it. It can be made from gemstones, stone, metal, glass, synthetic materials and even organic materials, such as wood or bone, to form pieces that are personal expressions of style. Fine jewelry usually features precious metals, such as gold and platinum. Fine jewelry is often accented with genuine gems, like rubies and sapphires or diamonds. Costume jewelry is usually less expensive and is made of more synthetic materials such as acrylic, although costume jewelry can also be made of wood, bone and other organic materials.Types of jewelry can fall into distinctive categories, but there are no hard, fast rules about categorizing jewelry. Bridal jewelry can fall into categories such as fine jewelry, antique jewelry, designer jewelry, custom jewelry or any number of other jewelry types. Antique jewelry can classify as such because of the period in which it was made. It can also qualify if the design or materials are reminiscent of antique jewelry or if the materials used are antique, or vintage.

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In the jewelry production business there are four basic types of stone settings. The jewelry designers, manufacturers, goldsmiths make their products according to this styles.

PRONG SET

The prong is the most popular setting. A prong is a narrow piece of metal that folds over the edge of the gemstone to secure it. A prong setting appears to elevate a stone higher than in other settings, and is used most often with diamond solitaires.

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Mens diamond rings are becoming more and more popular with the modern man. As more men celebrate their marriage by the wearing of a wedding ring, mens diamond rings are fast becoming the new mens fashion.

The wearing of a wedding ring by a man is a reasonably new phenomenon. It is only really since the second world war that the wearing of a wedding ring by a man became common. However it is taking off now, as are diamond mens rings .

And there are different considerations for a man’s wedding jewelry than for a woman.

A man doesn’t usually wear an engagement ring. A woman does. For a woman it is her engagement ring which is the feature on her finger. It is usually the engagement ring that is admired, not her wedding ring. And for this reason the woman will usually love a stunning diamond solitaire ring for her engagement ring, because a diamond solitaire is a ring to be admired!

And the setting of the diamond solitaire is there really just to hold the diamond. The setting is not the feature, the diamond is. The setting is just there to show off the diamond to best advantage.

So for a woman the choice of wedding ring needs to accommodate the fact that it should not overpower her engagement ring. Whilst there are some magnificent diamond wedding rings for women, they should always be more understated. Small diamonds, and with more of the impact of the ring coming from the ring itself rather than the diamonds. Read the rest of this entry »

Finding the right wedding jewelry is an extremely important aspect of the ceremony because the wedding bands in particular will be worn by the bride and groom forever. Wedding bands have gotten to be a great deal more ornate than they used to be. Diamond wedding bands have reached a peak in recent thanks to the celebrities who proudly display theirs.

Wedding bands have even surpassed the usual gold and are now moving into platinum and titanium bands. It used to be that 10k gold rings were the “in” thing to buy and these days they are looked down upon by most couples who would prefer to buy their gold in 14k or higher.

Simple diamonds are still a popular buy, but colored diamonds are gaining momentum thanks to J-Lo’s pink princess cut diamond ring with Ben Affleck. Other popular diamond colors are yellow, blue and aquamarine.

With the ever growing popularity of platinum rings, many couples are looking to shining silver and white gold as a cheaper substitute. White gold has a similar look of platinum, but is a fraction of the price. It is a great alternative.

In the past, the men’s ring was often of little concern to either as long as the woman’s ring was attractive, but these days, men want a nice ring or diamond studded ring almost as much as the women do. Read the rest of this entry »